UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that his government “will never stop selling weapons to Israel” during a speech at the House of Commons on 7 October.

His statement came in response to a question by MP Zarah Sultana, who pressed Starmer on whether London would “finally do what’s legally and morally right and end the government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets, not just 30 licenses.”

“No,” Starmer replied bluntly. “But it is a really serious point. Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes. None for defensive purposes on the anniversary of 7 October and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel would be a wrong position for this government and I will not take it,” Starmer said.

Zarah Sultana: "Will he do what is morally and legally right and end the government's complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets, not just 30 licenses? Yes or no?"

Keir Starmer: "No." pic.twitter.com/NjK3DFfa8M

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) October 7, 2024

His statement came during a solemn session to mark the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which saw the killing of about 1,200 Israelis – many of them at the hands of their own army under the Hannibal Directive.

Starmer’s assertion came days after French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. 

“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told broadcaster France Inter on Saturday.

Top officials in the British government were warned in September that they could face criminal liability if they continue to export UK-made components for F-35 fighter jets that Israel is using to carpet bomb Gaza and Lebanon.

The letters, sent by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), told British ministers that they, along with arms company executives, could be indicted for aiding and abetting war crimes if they continue to transfer the components.

“We know that Israeli air strikes and bombs using F-35 fighter jets have devastated densely populated areas, including shelters for displaced Palestinians … The insurmountable evidence that Israel is committing violations and international crimes means the UK government can’t feign ignorance,” Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq’s general director, told media.

Last month, London announced the suspension of 30 out of 350 active arms export licenses to Israel. However, the list did not include UK-made F-35 parts.

“The decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” Amnesty International’s Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said on 3 September.

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Featured image is from Labour Friends of Israel